This year Garden Resource Program
members will care for more than 100 acres of vacant land in the City of
Detroit, saving the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in routine
maintenance costs and investing at least as much in improvements like
flowers, trees, benches, and fences. Despite these heroic efforts,
gardeners and farmers that attempt to purchase the land they tend are
routinely given the run around, made to wait years, and sometimes
flat-out refused.
One of the reasons that residents are denied sales is that City of
Detroit zoning regulations do not allow for gardening and farming except
for in backyards or similar accessory uses.

The Detroit City Planning Commission's
Urban Agriculture Workgroup in partnership with the Detroit Food Policy
Council, many city departments, and community leaders, has been working
diligently to update zoning regulations and city code to allow for urban
agriculture for more than two years. These zoning and code
recommendations will be shared widely with the urban agriculture
community as well as the general public at community forums throughout
the summer and hopefully approved by City Council this fall.
Despite this timeline and despite the fact that residents who have
lovingly tended city owned vacant land for years are routinely denied
the opportunity to purchase land, it appears as if the Mayor's
Department is preparing to sell Hantz Farms hundreds of lots between the
Fisher St., St. Jean, Mack, and Jefferson for $300/lot.
To read a memo from The City of Detroit Planning Commission and learn
more click here.

Why should Hantz Farms get preferential
treatment? Please call City Council members today and request a fair and
transparent process to purchase city owned vacant land. If you've been
trying to purchase city owned land for gardening or farming call the
Real Estate Department today to demand equal treatment!